A sci-fi film with its eyes on reality: Watch the deleted scene from “I Origins” that features a TEDx Talk

Molecular biologist Ian (played by Michael Pitt) stares at a billboard of a pair of green eyes in Mike Cahill’s “I Origins.” The film explores iris recognition technology, and a TEDx talk helped Cahill do research. Photo: Fox Searchlight

Mike Cahill’s new film I Origins is technically science fiction. But the technology in it is firmly rooted in reality.

A mind-twister of the highest order, I Origins tells the story of a molecular biologist, Ian (played by Michael Pitt), who studies the iris of the eye, a part that is unique for every individual. His lab partner makes a startling discovery—that a young girl in India has the exact same iris pattern as someone Ian loved deeply. It’s a statistical impossibility that leads him to wonder: Could this be reincarnation?